How do I discourage pooping in the food?

[HaleBoppPeachyluv]

Is the only way to get one of those food thingies that come with a hood? Or those dispenser things? I've tried those & they get stuck sometimes...

Sunnybird likes to sit backwards on her food dish & watch me... (see my pic of her in my avatar) maybe I should get her another perch near her food & hope she likes it just as much for watching.... because the last time I changed her food, I found a poop. And she was still eating out of it! :x

This isn't dangerous is it? Maybe I should've posted this in "diet" under lovebird care....

[michael]

While pooping in her food bowl may not be extremely dangerous it is none the less not a good thing and can result in an illness of sorts. Water bowls are even worse yet :x. Better than trying to discourage any parrot behavior is creating alternatives that make these activities difficult to continue with. You can try those food bowl covers you mentioned but be aware some birds may avoid their food bowls or may still manage to stick their duppa in it. You will just have to give them a try. Moving her food bowl/s to another side of the cage while using a perch to take its place, or maybe have a perch right nearby may help too. Hard to say what will actually work but then probably the sooner you can avert it the better. Perhaps someone else may chirp in with an idea or two.......good luck!......:)

[thebubbleking]

My birds dont stick thier "duppas" in thier water but sunshine is a soup maker extrodinaire and i am changeing thier water 3 to 4 times a day :P

[kimsbirds]

The only solution I ever found successful was to place the food dish(es) as high up in the cage as physically possible.
My lovies never took to those covered dishes...something about disliking the fact that they had to stick their heads inside to eat...
Hmmmm.....

[HaleBoppPeachyluv]

hmm....her food dish is as high as I can hang it... my mom has used a smaller "hooded" thingie with some success with her hen... i shall see if i can find one similar. It's smaller but has a clear hood....so they can see, but not swing their feathered tushies over.

She hasn't started making soup, but that's probably just a matter of time. I just started mixing in pellets into her seed & she seems to have a liking for the pink ones...

[momo]

I used to have a really big dish for elmo.. and he would jump IN the food bowl and then would do a poo in it after he had finished eating.. after a while I could tell when elmo was about to do a poo and I would go.. no elmo... and go near him.. because he was a bit afraid of me he would jump off his food bowl and do the poo when he landed on the next perch.. I did that a few times.. and now he doesnt poop in his food bowl..
he's soo cheeky that when he's in his play pen.. he goes outside of the play pen to do a poo about 70% of the time..

[Kristina]

Fenway likes to be in his food bowl when he eats. LOL. He very rarely poops in his food (unless he takes a nap in the bowl).

Maybe put a perch near the bowl so she can still watch you?